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Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence
In recent years, a growing number of travelers have turned to booking short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb and Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO) over traditional hotel stays. Airbnb and other vacation rentals further grew in popularity during the COVID pandemic, when guests sought social distancing and enhanced cleaning measures.
The pandemic also caused a “massive drop” in business and event travel, market segments that hotels have always dominated, according to AllTheRooms, a leading provider of short-term rental and Airbnb data and analytics.
“Hotels have faced a combination of structural headwinds, as short-term rentals ate into their market share, and the exogenous shock of COVID-19, which decimated a number of important revenue channels,” according to AllTheRooms.
But that doesn’t mean hotels can’t effectively compete with Airbnb and other short-term rentals. Here are six tips from AllTheRooms for helping your hotel compete with the vacation rentals boom.
One of the big draws of booking vacation rentals is that guests can complete the entire booking process online or on their smartphones. Now more hotels are offering the contactless guest experience such as checking in via hotel app on their smartphones or using their phone as a room key. Chatbots and SMS messaging allow guests and potential guests to skip waiting at the front desk for answers to their questions or requests.
Events and conferences are back in full swing, but that doesn’t mean that hotels should return to charging much higher rates just because demand is high. Instead, hotels that want to stay competitive against short-term rentals must benchmark their rates more closely against short-term rental rates so the rooms are still a good value, says AllTheRooms.
One advantage hotels have over Airbnb and other short-term rentals is customer payback from their brand’s loyalty and rewards programs. So, marketing your rewards program and even expanding it can give your hotel a competitive advantage over short-term rentals, according to AllTheRooms:
“Rewards programs represent a potential source of competitive advantage for hotels which they have been doubling down on. A number of hotel clients we spoke to have been expanding their partnerships and increasing the rewards their programs offer – making the rewards more valuable and usable at more locations.”
Short-term rentals may offer more privacy than hotels but one thing they lack is an array of guest amenities. Airbnb guests won’t typically have access to or receive room service, 24-hour security, daily cleaning and on-site restaurants and bars. Hotels that offer an on-site restaurant or bar are “immediately at an advantage” over short-term rentals, says AllTheRooms.
To compete with Airbnb, many hotels are putting amenities like pools, steam rooms, gyms, covered parking and complimentary valet at the forefront of their marketing strategies, says AllTheRooms.
Airbnb and other short-term rentals can help travelers feel like locals. So, rebranding your hotel with local authenticity such as being historic or emblematic of the neighborhood and local culture can help your hotel compete against short-term rentals, says AllTheRooms.
During the pandemic, most hotel guests wanted little or nothing to do with communal spaces due to fears of getting COVID. Now that pandemic fears have eased, shared coworking spaces where guests can sip coffee while tapping away at their laptops are back in demand.
After the early months of lockdowns and a couple of years of working from home and not socializing as much, lots of people are ready to mingle with others in communal spaces over the seclusion of an Airbnb or other short-term rental
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